IT’S COME TO THIS: Team Kamala: Now Jill Stein Is a Threat to Democracy by … Appearing On Ballot. “So everyone’s a threat to democracy if they oppose Democrats in open elections? Is that how democracy works? Gee, it’s a good thing that Democrats anointed their nominee rather than rely on democracy, then!”
Archive for 2024
October 25, 2024
OPEN THREAD: Ring in the weekend.
EARTH-SHATTERING KABOOMS: NEW: Israel Launches Retaliatory Strikes on Iran — and Syria.
HMM: One Type of Fiber May Have Weight Loss Benefits Similar to Ozempic. “The findings align with another recent study by Duca, which fed barley flour, rich in beta-glucan, to rodents. Even though the rats continued eating just as much of their high-fat diet as before, their energy expenditure increased and they lost weight anyway. A similar outcome was observed in mice fed beta-glucan in the new study. These animals also showed increased concentrations of butyrate in their guts, which is a metabolite made when microbes break down fiber. Butyrate induces the release of glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which is the natural protein that synthetic drugs like Ozempic mimic to stimulate insulin release.”
FASTER, PLEASE: UCLA Scientists Discover Protein That Repairs Heart Damage.
JUSTICE TO A COLLEAGUE IS LESS IMPORTANT THAN NOT HELPING TRUMP:
Update: The @stanford faculty senate, by a single vote, decided to punt the vote to rescind the 2020 censure of Scott Atlas until next month.
The reason? Some faculty argued that rescinding the censure will send a political signal in favor of Trump in the upcoming election.… https://t.co/hNeKFitX4Z
— Jay Bhattacharya (@DrJBhattacharya) October 25, 2024
FREDDIE DE BOER: Who Says Another Google is Coming? “Why has AI hype been so overwhelming? I’ve argued that, at the bottom of this strange moment, there’s a broad desire to be freed from the mundane. AI sounds like something that might relieve us from the burden of living in boring reality, and that’s an attractive notion even for people living generally contented lives. . . . Another big driver of AI hype, though, is the recent investment environment. . . . Tech is a very mature field now, and despite startup mythology, what tech startups are trying to do now is often capital-intensive. The free money spigot has been turned off. There’s no law of nature that says another Google or Facebook is going to appear out of the mist and offer you an opportunity for pre-IPO investment. And yet a quick perusal of the ‘hockey stick growth’ search term on Twitter reveals how many people are chasing this dream.”
FILE UNDER AYFKM? Reuters utterly beclowns themselves again. The news agency who brought you “Green Helmet Guy” and “Fake IDF Missiles” proves once again that if an ignorant child writes idiotic editorialization, as long as it fits the “conventional wisdom” in their bubble, it’s off to the races.
Case in point: Today they filed a piece of garbage about the State of Missouri probing Google over the suppression of conservative content. In the file, this little gem of editorialization appeared:
“Trump and his supporters have alleged without evidence that Google searches displayed only “bad stories” about the former U.S. president.” (Emphasis added).
“Without evidence? Under what rock is this child living? As many of you know, as a First Amendment lawyer I have the honor of advising representing many outfits including The Heritage Foundation and The Daily Signal, The Daily Caller, and Just The News. And I can (without breaking any attorney/client privileges) tell you there is a sh*t-ton (that’s the legal phrase) of evidence that news outlets perceived as “right leaning” are most assuredly on Double Secret Probation with Google, Apple, MSN and others.
Just ask the good folks at PJMedia, or the Good Professor. I’m sure they’ll affirm.
HMM: Simple test helps gauge signs of aging in people 50 and over. “Folks over 50 who can stand on one leg for 30 seconds are aging gracefully, particularly if it’s not their strong leg, a new study finds.”
COCKBURN: Jennifer Rubin’s resignation from the Washington Post is surely imminent.
The non-endorsement is the new endorsement! Hot on the heels of the Los Angeles Times’s decision not to endorse a candidate in the presidential race, a controversial call made by the paper’s owner Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong that has been met with multiple staff resignations, the Washington Post is following suit.
A statement published Friday reads: “The Washington Post will not be making an endorsement of a presidential candidate in this election. Nor in any future presidential election. We are returning to our roots of not endorsing presidential candidates.”
Public statements from leading Post personalities have been aghast. Columnist Karen Attiah tweeted, “Jesus Christ.” Then, an hour later, “…” Then an hour later still, “What an absolute stab in the back. What an insult to those of us who have literally put our careers and lives on the line, to call out threats to human rights and democracy.”
Of most interest to Cockburn, however, were the remarks of fellow columnist and MSNBC mainstay Jennifer Rubin to the LA Times resignations earlier in the week. In response to Sewell Chan’s resignation from the Times, she wrote, “Bravo. All respect.” Followed by, “and where are the rest of them?”
The implication is clear: now that her paper, too, is refusing to endorse the sainted Kamala Harris, Rubin must be set to join the charge of resignations in disgust, along with Robert Kagan, as a sort-of Potomac Joan of Arc. The prospect brings a tear to Cockburn’s eye. Such bravery.
Ed Morrissey adds: WaPo: Never Mind on That Whole Darkness Thing.
Besides, it’s hardly a secret how the Post views Trump at least, if not Harris. They adopted their banner not after January 6, but just after Trump took office in 2017. Bezos owned the Post at that time too, and had used the slogan during the 2016 election before Trump had even formally won the nomination. It’s still on the masthead, and even as Bezos put it there, Allahpundit recognized it for what it is:
The timing gives the slogan the same effect as that dopey NBC News story from a few days ago noting that Trump would not, in fact, become the shortest-serving president in American history. It’s a declaration of opposition to the new administration. If it wasn’t, they would have slapped it on the front page back when Barack Obama, a.k.a. “the greatest enemy of press freedom that we have encountered in at least a generation,” started snooping in journalists’ phone records.
With all that as background, does the refusal to participate in endorsements really matter? It does to Lewis’ predecessor, Marty Baron, who called Lewis and Bezos cowards for refusing to participate:
Colleagues were said to be “shocked” and uniformly negative. Post corporate spokespeople have not responded to multiple messages left by NPR on the subject.
Former Washington Post Executive Editor Martin Baron, who led the newsroom to acclaim during Trump’s presidency, denounced the decision starkly.
“This is cowardice, a moment of darkness that will leave democracy as a casualty,” Baron said in a statement to NPR. “Donald Trump will celebrate this as an invitation to further intimidate The Post’s owner, Jeff Bezos (and other media owners). History will mark a disturbing chapter of spinelessness at an institution famed for courage.”
As Baron’s statement hints, if you’re on Twitter today, it may seem like every employee at the Post has very publicly lost his mind: Floodgates Have Opened! Hilariously Brutal Thread of All Freak-Outs Over Wapo Not Endorsing Kamala Wins Twitter.
It really is an incredible thread. Just click here and start scrolling before the Posties either come to their senses or are read the riot act and start deleting their cris de cour:
THE FLOODGATES HAVE OPENED https://t.co/g1tOV2g0SW
— Parker Thayer (@ParkerThayer) October 25, 2024
Attiah is taking the non-endorsement of Kamala particularly badly:
Hey, you know who else called an unexpected last minute betrayal a “stab in the back,” right?
Given today’s freakout, and the general redlining of the Godwin meter, John Ekdahl proposes a new slogan for the Post:
Hey, they really are leftists in a hurry!
AT AMAZON, Deals on refurbished electronics. #CommissionEarned
ET TU, CNN?
NEW: CNN’s Scott Jennings says Kamala Harris is a “double-threat” because she can’t think on her feet and can’t answer the expected questions.
CNN has railed on Harris after her town hall event.
Here are the top reactions:
6. Axelrod: She is word salad city.
5. Jennings:… pic.twitter.com/Mdrr46uzbz
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) October 24, 2024
That’s nice but voting for Trump is nicer — no getting cocky.
BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: Kamala Harris Officially Chickens Out of Doing Joe Rogan’s Podcast.
CIVIL RIGHTS UPDATE: More Support For Challenges To New Massachusetts Gun Law.
WELCOME HOME: Crew-8 returns to Earth.
A Crew Dragon spacecraft successfully returned to Earth from the International Space Station early Oct. 25, wrapping up a record-setting mission.
The Crew Dragon spacecraft Endeavour splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast from Pensacola, Florida, at 3:29 a.m. Eastern. The spacecraft had undocked from the ISS at 5:05 p.m. Eastern Oct. 23.
The splashdown marked the end of the Crew-8 mission, returning NASA astronauts Matthew Dominick, Michael Barratt and Jeanette Epps and Roscosmos cosmonaut Alexander Grebenkin. The four spent 235 days in space, 232 of them on the station.
In a statement several hours after splashdown, NASA said the four had been taken to a local medical facility “for additional evaluation” separate from the standard medical evaluations done on the recovery ship. NASA did not elaborate on what prompted that evaluation, and the agency said at a post-splashdown briefing that the the crew was doing well after splashdown. NASA added in its statement that “out of an abundance of caution, all crew members were flown to the facility together.”
That 235-day mission is a record for the longest flight of an American crewed spacecraft.
Crew-9 is set to return in February with Starliner strandees Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams on board.
FLORIDA MAN FRIDAY [VIP]: Now That’s One Devoted Swiftie. “It’s time for your much-needed break from the serious news and this week we have the mysterious case of the tell-tale iPhone, an O.J Simpson impersonator, and going to jail for Taylor Swift.”
STAR PICTURES ARE COOL [VIP]: GOLDEN AGE OF SPACE PORN.
WAPO WON’T ENDORSE KAMALA, LEFTIES FURIOUS:
On the other hand they really could just think Kamala Harris is that bad.
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 25, 2024
Kamala Harris – "He's Hitler
Washington Post – "Yeah we've thought about it and we're still not going to endorse you over Hitler. Sorry."
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) October 25, 2024
They won’t endorse Kamala Harris, but they think her girlfriend-slapping husband is super sexy. pic.twitter.com/wgu33mQJR9
— John Ekdahl (@JohnEkdahl) October 25, 2024
The closing dozen days of Trump being called a Nazi has a 2016 feel to it
What’s new: his supporters are pushing back with a testimonial video of an Auschwitz survivor who backs him https://t.co/OttJVNUn8U
— Marc Caputo (@MarcACaputo) October 25, 2024
LIMITED TIME DEAL: Alimens & Gentle Mens Dress Shirts. #CommissionEarned
HMM: Shock Poll: Trump Is Close in New Mexico.
KA Consulting’s metrics claim a much closer race than the symphony of major pollsters, all of whom have Harris comfortably carrying the Southwestern state. KA Consulting polled 612 likely voters between October 16 and 18 and cited a recent NBC poll that found Trump’s position strengthening among Hispanics as evidence that Trump can pull off a shocking upset in the Sun Belt. Nearly half of the state’s population identifies as Hispanic, and the politics of a border state cannot be discounted during an election cycle where illegal immigration has dominated policy discussions.
The consulting firm also cites former independent presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s strong polling numbers in the state before he dropped out of the race to support Trump as evidence that Trump could improve on his poor showings in 2016 and 2020.
New Mexico is a border state, too, which is why I mentioned it as a (very) outside chance for Trump in this week’s Wargaming the Electoral College.
ANNUAL WAR ON CHRISTMAS KICKS OFF EARLY THIS YEAR: Neiman Marcus drops ‘Christmas’ from gift catalog title.
After more than a century, luxury chain Neiman Marcus has stopped calling its annual gift catalog the “Christmas Book,” instead opting to call it a “Holiday Book.”
The book was first sent out in 1915 as a card telling customers to visit Neiman Marcus for their holiday shopping, though the 2024 version is considered the 98th edition of the catalog, per a Neiman Marcus release.
The new name was adopted “in the spirit of inclusivity as it welcomes customers of all backgrounds, religions and traditions to celebrate the season,” a Neiman Marcus spokesperson told The Dallas Morning News*.
Some employees at the company are kvetching about the switch to “Holiday Book,” contending the name change was spurred by the preferences of executives.
“We found out via the Dallas Morning News article. The book didn’t need a name change. Personal opinions about inclusion —- from [Neiman Marcus CEO Geoffroy van Raemdonck] and his leadership team — changed this,” one employee who didn’t provide a name told the New York Post.
* Because if there’s one thing Texas residents really hate, it’s actually calling the Winter Solstitial Holiday by its real name.
GUYS, FIND ANOTHER PLOT: NBC’s Law and Order Portrays Pro-lifers as Terrorist Bombers.
Last night, NBC’s “Law & Order” portrayed pro-lifers as terrorist bombers who target IVF (in-vitro fertilization) practitioners.
In the episode, “The Meaning of Life,” on Thursday, an IVF doctor named Sarah Heartwood (Erica Sweany) is left in an irreversible coma after receiving a bomb-laden package.
Heartwood’s husband is a well-known atheist author. Law enforcement initially suspects the bomber is a Muslim plumber who attacked her husband at a book lecture. When the plumber provides an alibi, NYPD next arrests a black man who delivered the package. Of course, neither the Muslim nor the black man are the killer. The real killer turns out to be a “random white guy,” in the words of one of the detectives. Surprise!
I honestly had to check on the date of the above Media Research Center post, because this is remarkably old ground for Law & Order to be covering, dating all the way back to the ninth episode aired during the show’s first season — in January of 1991:
After an anti-abortion protester is killed in an abortion center bombing, detectives search for all of her potential co-conspirators.
Sgt. Grevey and Det. Logan investigate a bombing at an abortion clinic that resulted in the death of 22 year-old Mary Donovan who was using the clinic’s bathroom. In fact, Donovan was carrying false ID and it was she who used a basic pipe bomb to blow up the clinic. Donovan was a supporter of the Women for Life organization and the bomb materials are traced to Celeste McClure who likely made the bomb. They suspect Rose Schwimmer, head of the anti-abortion group of having ordered the attack. When they obtain startling new evidence, Schwimmer is charged with murder.
As the late Kathy Shaidle wrote in 2017, “For years I’ve been ‘joking’ that ‘More abortion doctors have been murdered on Law & Order than in real life.’” There may be “eight million stories in the Naked City” (oh wait, that was an even older Manhattan-based series with plots “ripped from the headlines”), but it isn’t the hotbed of Red on Blue violence that Dick Wolf needs it to be to keep ginning up the culture war.